Dentsu Creative Australia appoints Stu Turner as Chief Creative Officer

Dentsu Creative Australia has appointed Stu Turner as Chief Creative Officer. The former creative leader at VML, DDB and Havas starts on Monday and will lead the agency’s national creative product.

“Our belief is simple: you can’t grow with the status quo,” said David Halter, Chief Practice Officer, Dentsu Creative Australia. “Stu shares that same belief. He’s an exceptional creative thinker, but just as importantly, someone who cares deeply about people, the work and making an impact for clients.”

Turner will work across the agency’s integrated Creative, Experience and Earned practices, and alongside dentsu’s media, data, technology and gaming businesses.

Why Turner took the role

Turner said the agency’s people and dentsu’s connected capabilities drove his decision.

“Everyone I met at Dentsu Creative was focused on the same thing: challenging the status quo with innovative thinking. Not just talking about great ideas, but having the ambition and hunger to make them happen,” he said.

“There’s a fantastic team, great clients and some seriously exciting briefs across Creative, Experience and Earned. And with media, technology, data and gaming all part of dentsu, there are very few barriers to where a great idea can go.”

Who is Stu Turner?

Turner has more than 20 years of experience and has held senior creative leadership roles at VML, The Royals, DDB and Havas.

His work has won a Cannes Lions Grand Prix, D&AD Yellow and Black Pencils, a Spikes Asia Grand Prix and several Effies, including the Grand Effie. His campaigns include The Palau Pledge, The Riderless Bike and KitKat Break Chair, as well as work for IKEA and RACQ. His most recent, SP Lager Icon of Change, won Best in Show at BADC.

For the past 12 months, Turner has worked with Google as co-creator and creative lead of Google Ad Labs. The global program helps in-house teams use AI and emerging technologies to improve their creative and commercial results.

Global backing

Yasuharu Sasaki, Global Chief Creative Officer at Dentsu, highlighted Turner’s interest in technology.

“Stu’s work demonstrates the power of ideas to move people and change behaviour. He combines that creative instinct with a curiosity about how technology can help us do things we haven’t done before. I’m delighted to welcome him to our global creative community and excited to see what he and our Australian team create together,” Sasaki said.

Halter said the appointment shows the agency is still investing in its people and creative product, and that Turner shares its view of where ideas come from.

“I also loved his view that creativity shouldn’t be limited to a department or discipline. The best ideas can come from anywhere, and that’s the kind of creative culture we’re continuing to build,” he said.

Halter also mentioned something they share outside work.

“And on a personal note, as a father of three boys, I was particularly impressed to discover Stu has four! Anyone who’s still upright, let alone producing world-class work, deserves serious respect.”